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After local dip in unemployment, numbers heading upward

After a near-historic unemployment dip in Chelsea and the surrounding areas earlier this year, numbers have crept higher in recent months, according to state Labor Force data released Tuesday.

Last January, Chelsea’s unemployment rate sat at a whopping 11.1 percent, but without much explanation from the state as to the reasons, it dove down nearly four percentage points to 7.3 percent by May.

Such dips in only a matter of months are nearly unheard of for those who have observed local rates over the last 15 years. Going up or down a few tenths of a percentage point has been news in year’s past, but dropping or rising by full percentage points has been rare.

Inquiries to state labor officials as to the reasons for the dip have not yet been answered.

However, that discussion might have become a bit moot at this point as numbers have been on the rise since May.

On Tuesday, state numbers indicated that Chelsea’s rate was at 8.3 percent, with 1,185 unemployed persons. Meanwhile, throughout the past 12 months, the total labor force in Chelsea has remained steady at around 13,000.

Numbers from surrounding communities told the same story.

In Revere, the rate was at 7.1 percent, and that is up 0.4 since May.

In Lynn, the rate is up to 7.7 percent, increasing by 0.7 percent since May. Everett was pretty much in the same boat, though its rate has been lower than surrounding communities for most of the year. Nevertheless, they sat at 6.7 percent in September, which is up 0.7 percent since May.

Numbers within the state unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted and do not include those who are not in the work force.